A year ago at this stage of the offseason, the question for the Miami Heat was determining who Bam Adebayo was. The answer was good enough to be drafted at No. 14, with what the team hopes will be its final lottery pick for years to come.

This time around, the question becomes what Adebayo could be.

And that could be more significant to the Heat than the rhetoric surrounding the team's other big men in these days since playoff elimination.

Because at this stage, perhaps for better or worse, the Heat know what they have elsewhere in their power rotation.

With Hassan Whiteside, there is arguably the most polarizing player in the franchise's three decades — Whiteside, coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat president Pat Riley seemingly each with their own definitive reads.

With Kelly Olynyk, there is the exact opposite — an appreciation of exactly who and what the unique big man is.

Then there is Adebayo, who has displayed an ability to defend on the perimeter in the pick-and-roll, with lockdown moments during his rookie season against Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Jimmy Butler.

But there also is this: According to Basketball Reference's play-by-play "Position Estimate," Adebayo played 96 percent of his minutes this past season at center, with the other four percent at power forward. Whiteside was listed 100 percent at center, with Olynyk 62 percent at center and 38 percent at power forward.

So if Whiteside is back, it could come down to diversify or stagnate for Adebayo.

"I'm a basketball player, pretty much. I just go out there and do what I got to do with this team. Whatever coach needs me to do, I do," Adebayo said after the season when asked about where he views his positional future.

As a center, it would mean more offseason work on his post game. At power forward, more on the perimeter. This past season, 62.4 percent of Adebayo's shots came within three feet of the rim, with 85.6 percent of his shots within 10 feet.

"We work on the post game every day and jump shots," he said of his sessions with assistant coach Juwan Howard, "so can't really decide between the two."

And yet decisions might have to be made on such priorities, because a Whiteside return could mean nothing more than a repeat of limited minutes at center, if that is the only place for those minutes.

The hope is to make Spoelstra again take notice, just as was the case weeks into his rookie season, when his coach felt compelled to create playing time.

"The summer is all about working," said the 20 year old who turns 21 on July 18. "So this summer I'm just going to get in the gym. I'm going to be prepared even more than this year."

Spoelstra said having Adebayo experience a playoff race, something that is not always the case for a lottery pick as a rookie, was "worth its weight in gold."

"Every game that we played," Spoelstra said, "we were playing for our lives to get into the playoffs. That is exponentially important and then helps improvement. And Bam was able to experience all of that. That was great. He is heading into an offseason with a lot of momentum."

Based on the Heat's commitment to development, the hope is of even more to come, to perhaps produce the latest position-less element that has come to define Spoelstra's coaching approach.

When Adebayo returns for his second NBA training camp, he will arrive as a known quantity. But he wants to leave open ended the type of contributor he yet can become.

"I mean our staff does a great job of helping us with everything, so I can't say one particular thing," Adebayo said of where his next step might come. "You know, coach 17 [Howard] and coach Quinny [Chris Quinn], they're in the gym with us every day, so I’d have to say everything."